Katy Perry accused of stealing song, turning it Pagan

ST. LOUIS –Pop music star Katy Perry may be going to trial over allegations she used a Christian hip-hop composition as the basis of her 2014 hit, “Dark Horse.” The artists behind the 2007 piece entitled “Joyful Noise” not only say Perry used it without permission, but that she “irreparably tarnished” their work by associating it with Pagan imagery in her music video. The judge in the case thinks it’s close enough that it’s worth having jurors make the call. The song “Joyful Noise” was created by Marcus Gray (Flame), Lecrae Moore, Emanuel Lambert, and Chike Ojukwu in 2007; it was published the following year.

Pagans engage in community service through the Red Cross

TWH –The call came in at 3:30 on the morning of Feb. 4. A southbound Amtrak train had collided head-on with an unmanned CSX train. A conductor and engineer had been killed, more than 100 passengers were injured, and everyone on the train had been through a traumatic experience. Over the next day, Holli Emore was among Red Cross workers from the South Carolina chapter providing comfort to the passengers, bringing in food, safeguarding privacy while local leaders express sympathy and support, and ensuring that even unspoken needs were met.

Harvest blessings

TWH — This week, many modern Pagans, Heathens and polytheists are observing the summer festival of Lughnasadh, also called Lammas, Lughnassa, and Harvest Home. Typically celebrated on Aug. 1, Lughnasadh is one of the yearly fire festivals and marks the first of three harvest celebrations. It traditionally honors Lugh, the Celtic god of light and many talents, and his foster-mother, Tailtiu. In addition, it’s the time of the Ásatrú festival of first fruits called Freyfaxi.

“Devotions for the People” provide intersection points for Pagans, polytheists

BAY AREA, Calif. –For nearly two years, members of Solar Cross Temple have offered monthly “Devotions for the People,” a form of online Pagan ministry. While these devotionals stem from a variety of traditions, they more often than not are centered around some form of justice. According to T. Thorn Coyle, “There is no real measure of success for these devotionals. Whether five people or 500 engage with the process doesn’t matter .

Morwen Two Feathers, Earth Drum Council leader, dies

CONCORD, Mass. — Renowned drumming leader and coloring book author Morwen Two Feathers, a longtime member of the EarthSpirit community, has died after more than five years of treatment for glioblastoma, a type of brain tumor. She is survived by her husband Jimi, children Kane and Wren, and a legion of others who considered her family. Two Feathers was born into a family that was Jewish ethnically and spiritually, but developed doubts in the existence of Yahweh as a child, even as her interests in the occult and Arthurian legend blossomed. As she recounted in her book Universal Heartbeat, she discovered feminism, humanism, and “years later a friend in graduate school gave me a tarot deck and introduced the concept of the Goddess.